Dan Savage, known for creating the anti-bullying series ‘It Gets Better,’ sparked a controversy with a speech he gave recently at a high school journalism conference. While discussing the Bible, he reportedly so offended the Christian teens in attendance that many of them simply walked out.

Savage was invited as a keynote speaker to the National High School Journalism Conference in Seattle. While trying to make a point about bullying in association with the Bible, he said, “We can learn to ignore the bull***t in the Bible about gay people.” He then went on to refer to the religious text as a “radically pro-slavery document.”

When students proceeded to exit the auditorium in response to these aggressive statements, Savage continued by saying, “It’s funny, as someone who’s on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the bible, how pansy-assed some people react when you push back.”

What he probably didn’t expect from his comments, however, was a backlash from a gay organization. Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the gay conservative group GOProud, called what transpired “outrageous.”

“It is ironic that someone whose claim to fame is fighting bullying would resort to bullying tactics in attacking high school students who were offended by his outrageous remarks,” said LaSalvia. “There is nothing incompatible between being a Christian and believing that all people should be treated equally, and Dan Savage’s attacks on Christianity only fuel those on the extremist fringe who oppose gay rights.”